Love Only Knows
by Darth Stitch
Summary: 20 Random Things About the McGarrett-Williams Family. Slash Steve/Danny. Warning for Minor Character Death.
1. Chapter 1

**Love Only Knows: 20 Random Facts About the McGarrett-Williams Family  
By Darth Stitch**

**DISCLAIMER: **Not mine. Belongs to CBS, Peter Lenkov, the Powers that Be that run this wonderful show.

**DISCLAIMER TO SAVE MY SOUL FROM GOING TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET: **Slash of the Steve/Danny variety. Run if it's not your cup of tea. Again, be warned for some stealth crossovers of the NCIS variety (coughcough). WARNING FOR CHARACTER DEATH (Minor Character).

* * *

_You were the secret I loved to keep  
the name I would only sing in my sleep  
Would it be all right if we just lose ourselves tonight  
And if you let go, will you reach out again?_

_She said love only knows  
Love only knows if we'll give into fear and choose life undercover  
She said love only knows it's special enough that we'll choose one another  
We'll choose each other  
and I can't breathe without you and I don't_

_And I can't live without love and I won't... _

…_and I won't_

"Love Only Knows," Josh Groban

1. Steve McGarrett and Catherine Rollins ended the sexual aspect of their relationship as cordially as it had begun. They were friends and they dated and had sex on occasion. They had fun and neither of them desired anything more complicated than that. She found Steve sweet and funny but he had a terrifying tendency to wheedle and get away with things that she would have never stood for in any other situation. She'd have killed him in a week if they were in a serious relationship. Thankfully, both of them were perfectly content with things as they stood.

2. Naturally, Catherine had caught on to Steve's hopeless crush on his loud-mouthed, opinionated New Jersey-born partner immediately. She'd had teased Steve about it, if only because Steve looked terribly cute when he was flustered but did tell him he ought to get his ass in gear soon.

3. Catherine had _not_ expected to end up pregnant _after_ she and Steve called it quits. Five months into her pregnancy, she'd called him, intending to tell him that he was going to be the father of her baby. It wasn't that she _needed_ him for anything – she was quite capable of handling herself and her child and she didn't want him to feel obligated. But she _knew _Steve and he would not have allowed a child of his to not know who his father was and that the child would be loved no matter what.

4. Three minutes into the conversation, Catherine could hear him happy and content for the very first time in years, having finally gathered his courage to tell his Jersey boy the truth about his feelings. And said feelings were, as she had long guessed, were very much reciprocated in full. She said goodbye to Steve without ever saying a single word about their child.

5. Nine months after Steve spoke to Catherine, he flew back to the mainland to claim his son, Michael John. Catherine had died in a mall shooting by a psychotic Marine, protesting his dishonorable discharge. Catherine had died saving her baby.

6. There was nothing else for Steve to do, no case to solve, no killer to catch. NCIS had done a good job of handling the investigation, finally bringing down the killer and closing the case. Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team had a formidable reputation all of their own. Steve was left with the much more terrifying part of the deal – mourn the loss of his friend and the mother of his child, meet his months-old son and raise him for the next 18 years.

7. Apparently, baby Michael had a yen for Gothic metal – at least judging from the tiny black goth rocker shirt his doting Aunt Abby dressed him in and the fact that he was sleeping quite peacefully despite the loud music, turned somewhat down for developing baby ears. Apparently, Abby Sciuto and Catherine Rollins were BFFs and as a result, baby Michael was sent off with his father with a set of Goth-themed baby clothes and music that apparently served as lullabies.

8. Danny had only one thing to say to that: "At least your kid has better taste in music."

9. To say that Danny had mixed feelings about this new development in their lives was something of a massive understatement. To Steve, the scary part was that Danny, who could be counted on to say _something_about anything and everything, was, for once, being uncharacteristically quiet.

10. Danny _was_scared and guilty and felt stupid and guiltier for feeling that way. It was a fucked-up mess, all the more so because he knew perfectly well he had no ground to stand on with this, not since he'd placed Steve in a similar situation with the whole mess with Rachel and the baby that never was. And there was this weird ache in his heart whenever he thought about Steve resolutely keeping quiet about his feelings for Danny and how his hopeless, heroic, self-sacrificing idiot of a partner would've been prepared to leave things well buried for Danny's sake.

11. The conversation between Steve and Danny went this way:

"You realize that I'm not in love with Cat and it was never like that between us, right?"

"Stop. You shouldn't have to say that. I _know_ it already, okay?"

"But you needed to hear it."

"Yeah, babe. I guess I did." Danny sighs into Steve's shoulder, not minding in the least that he's got octo-SEAL wrapped around him at the moment. It makes it easy for him to set his stupid pride aside and quietly admit the truth.

12. They make a pretty picture – Steve in his formal Navy dress blues, carrying an infant who bore such a striking resemblance to himself that there was no doubt that this was _his_ son. It was Chin who said aloud what each and every one of the team was thinking, considering the reactions that Steve and his son were getting from bystanders:

"Houston, we have a problem."

13. Grace was eagerly looking forward to having a baby brother. And she was the one who first coined the nickname "Baby SEAL."

14. "Hey, you. You with the tie in your hands. _Freeze!_" Danny yells, putting on his best scowl.

Really, it should have worked – the scowl on his face and the barked command has gotten perps to wet their pants a few times. Hey, he was perfectly capable of doing the Scary Cop routine, with or without a certain Navy SEAL at his side.

However, this particular person happened to be immune.

"Oh God, no, don't. Don't put my tie in your mouth. Oh my God, seriously, what is it with you McGarretts and my ties? Huh? Is it genetic?" Danny carefully pries said aforementioned piece of clothing away from chubby fingers and glares.

He tries, anyway.

He just gets laughed at.

Of course, Danny can't stay mad at him either. Not that he's really angry in the first place. Babies tended to do that to a person. Especially when said baby happens to be Michael John McGarrett, is nearly a year old and happens to be the spitting image of his father Steve.

Despite the traumatic circumstances in which Michael had arrived into their lives, the little guy's a sunshiny little soul, always ready with a cherubic version of his father's sweet smile, especially when he's spoken to. And Danny tends to do that a lot, since he's firmly of the opinion that Steve still needs to work on his communication skills and the kid's already got genetics going against him, so it's up to Danny to work against that by providing a nurturing environment.

"See," Danny explains to the kid, waving the tie in front of him. "This is an essential part of professional male attire. Okay? I don't care if your father can rock the James Bond look sans tie – he's a bad example, you shouldn't be following in his footsteps. Much. What am I saying, you already have the girls falling all over you and you're not even a year old yet!"

The baby giggles and nods as if he understands every word.

15. So Danny stares at this HUGE bag of pastries that Steve somehow manages to cart back to HQ, even though he had the baby with him and he's sure Gracie, Kono and Spooky are staring as well with hearts in their eyes.

Not for Steve, but for the sweet goodness.

And Chin's already reaching for his share, because Chin has his priorities straight.

"Jesus Christ, Steve - we said, bring home SOME food. Not the entire freakin' bakery!" said Danny weakly.

And Steve ducks his head bashfully in typical fashion and says, "I know, but Grandma Nina from the bakery wouldn't take no for an answer and Danno, she's kinda like your Mom in that respect and nobody ever says no to your mother."

The baby giggled in Steve's arms and waved happily. Michael tended to do that a lot, almost as if he already understood the conversations going around him.

And Kono of course, latches on to the obvious. "You mean, you and Mikey carted off all this loot for FREE? For realsies?"

"OMG ILU," said Spooky, forgoing English for the Language of Squee.

Grace had her mouth full already and offered her Dad a sugary grin.

Danny facepalmed. He could just see it. SEAL and Baby SEAL on a food run? No one was safe.

Also, he was a smart guy and: "Hey! Leave some for me you greedy animals! Come on!"

"Danny," Spooky said severely. "I have a uterus that's working overtime. Chocolate is a necessity hence I go homicidal on you all, even if Steve temporarily has the Baby of Immunity. So - DEAL."

"What she said," Kono said happily.

16. And then, Gracie decided she wanted a dog. Danny tried to resist the notion for as long as he could. Because Steve was utterly useless in that department, being as that he thought that having a dog would be a wonderful idea, even though they were already dealing with the fact that they had a baby already. Also, Steve had a hard time saying "No" to Grace, just as much as Danny did.

17. Naturally, Gracie named the dog "Mick." Fortunately, the dog showed no signs of turning into an emo vampire private investigator.

18. Of course, the dog was military-trained and was able to watch both Grace and the baby and work with Five-0 at the same time. Naturally, Danny _would_ end up having a pet who was as every bit as G.I. Joe as his husband.

19. Evidently, the dog took after Steve more than the rest of them realized because it was the dog who brought home the tiny, adorable gray tabby kitten. The dog was quite protective over his little friend and Danny threatened to go Jersey on Steve's ass if he called the kitty, "Danno." It was Kono's idea to call the kitten "Josef."

"Slash shippers aweigh, huh, Kono?" Spooky said dryly.

"Raise the flag, matey. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum," Kono drawled.

20. So this is what it's like to be part of their _ohana_ – Chin just rolls with the daily dose of crazy with his customary aplomb. Kono continues to be the secret master of the entire universe. Spooky deals with the supernatural weirdness. Danny rants about life, the universe and everything. Grace now commiserates with baby Michael about how difficult it is to raise parents, uncles and aunts. Occasionally, they have visits from Mary and Kamekona's always ready with the shave ice and new flavors to try.

Steve thinks about the people he's loved and lost – his mother, his father, Cat and he keeps their memories alive to pass on to his son, so that he'll know them too.

And then he'll take Danny into his arms for a kiss, play with their children, with the pets constantly underfoot and move forward with the family they now have together. And maybe "happily-ever-after" isn't a guarantee for them but Steve and Danny will definitely make it an adventure.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

You guys should have warned me about how difficult it is to resist the Abby Sciuto Muse! AUGH!


	2. Love Only Knows: The Remix

**Love Only Knows: The Remix **

**By Darth Stitch **

**SUMMARY: **Stories extending the 20 Random Facts of the McGarrett-Williams Family

**DISCLAIMER: **As seen in the first post.

* * *

**The Closing Act **

Steve McGarrett is no stranger to arriving at the proverbial closing act.

Most often, it happens on the battlefield, when he comes across dead bodies and smoking ruins and there's really nothing else that he can do, other than make sure the wounded are attended to and the dead can at least be returned to their grieving families. Now, in leading Five-0, it's different – it's usually when their job begins, putting clues together and figuring out the culprits and bringing them to justice.

Steve _never_ expected that he'd be doing this for Catherine though.

It had been an epic case of sheer bad luck and being in the wrong place at the wrong time – a Marine going amok after a dishonorable discharge, shooting up a mall full of people and their children. Cat had been there with her best friend, a forensic scientist from NCIS – a perky Goth girl who reminded Steve of Spooky.

NCIS did a fantastic job in bringing Catherine's killer to justice. There wasn't else for Steve to do at this point – no case to solve, no bad guy that he could go after to avenge her death. The incident didn't happen on Hawaii – it happened on the mainland, in fact. Everything that he might have done together with Five-0 was already covered by an eminently competent investigative team. Even Steve had heard of Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his NCIS team and Gibbs was still a legend among the Marines.

All that was left was for Steve to pick up the pieces of Catherine's life.

Cat died protecting her baby.

And Steve happened to be that baby's _father. _

Abby had taken charge of the child until Steve arrived. She and Cat were good friends and had been shopping for clothes and toys for Michael when the shooting started. Ordinarily, Child Services should have taken custody of the child but the NCIS Goth girl – _Abby – _ was having none of that, Gibbs had backed her up and it was ridiculous to have the child taken away when his father had already been identified and informed.

"He's such a cute little guy," Abby said in full-on babble mode, apparently. "And you know, I kept nagging Cat to finally nut up and _tell_ you the truth and she meant to call you once we got back from the mall but…" Abby gulped and Steve found himself comforting her, in much the same way he's learned to do for the victims in all the other cases he's handled.

"You smile exactly the same way Mikey does too," Abby said then.

Catherine was – and God, he never expected to think of her in the past tense – a good friend and yes, they dated and slept together on occasion. With Cat, things were simple and uncomplicated and they both liked it that way. The sexual part of their relationship ended in pretty much the same way and this had happened shortly after the whole mess with Governor Jameson's murder had been sorted out.

Steve remembers the last time he'd spoken to her and it was on the phone of all things. It had been an odd conversation – her calling to say hello and asking how he was and he'd sheepishly admitted to her that she was right on the money, having caught him out on his real feelings for Danny. He understands now that she _had_ called to tell him something else entirely but had gotten cold feet at the last minute.

He understands that she would've told him, eventually.

Neither of them was careless – a baby, much less a more serious relationship, had never been something they planned for. But accidental pregnancies happened and Steve hoped she knew, God, he hoped she _understood_ that he wouldn't have left her high and dry, that he would have been there for her as a friend and as a father for their baby.

This is a different sort of investigation that he's doing now, putting some closure on the last few months of her life. Cat's parents were divorced and he knew that her relationship with them was strained. She had no siblings. And Abby, who was Cat's closest friend here, had been the one to provide some insight during Cat's pregnancy and a few letters that Cat had begun but had never sent to Steve.

_I'm not expecting anything…_

_You're Michael's father and I thought you should know…_

_I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this before…_

_I know you love Danny and really, I don't want to cause trouble for you two. I'm happy you found him. I'm happy for you both. _

The letters are obvious drafts, with lines crossed out and some crumpled up in obvious frustration and then smoothed over. But the thoughts are clear and they're a comfort, in many ways.

Abby had said, "Cat told me that knowing you, you'd probably be on the next flight out once you found out about Michael."

And he would have, because this is _his_ child, _his_ son and he wouldn't have left a child of his behind, would have _begged_ to be a part of his boy's life. It was a given, a statement of fact, just like his relationship with Danny was a given.

Michael John Rollins McGarrett – he was just a few months old but to Steve's eyes, far more alert and aware than he expected babies would be. His first meeting with his son would probably induce giggles among the females of his _ohana_. Abby had dressed Michael in a tiny black rocker's shirt and had teased the soft curly wisps of dark hair up into a reasonable imitation of a Mohawk. Abby had simply taken one look at Steve and said, "You have _got_ to be Michael's Daddy – he looks so much like you!"

And it was true – Steve could see a lot of his own features in the little boy – the same wavy dark hair, the same changeable hazel eyes. Evidently, little Michael had managed to charm the entire NCIS team – even the good Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs had defrosted enough to smile when Abby held Michael up to him and said, "Say bye-bye to Uncle Jethro, Michael!"

Also, Steve was amused to see Gibbs slap Agent DiNozzo upside the head when the latter apparently tried to use the combination of "Man Plus Cute Baby" to score some points with women. Well, at least one woman in particular, if Steve didn't miss his guess. The ex-Mossad Ziva David wasn't having any of DiNozzo's antics.

Steve's always thought that his shot at fatherhood would be limited to Grace and even now, he's still humbled and awed at the fact that Danny, who had resented "Step-Stan" so bitterly, allowed _Steve_ to stand as Grace's parent too. More children was something they thought of happening maybe in the far future or maybe even never, given the dangers they faced on a daily basis and the demands of their jobs. But this was an unexpected blessing and Steve finds himself marveling at how well little Michael fits in the cradle of his arms, how easy it was to work his way around baby drool and sticky fingers and thankfully, managing to muddle through diaper-changing and bottle-feeding with a lot of help from Abby.

Apparently, _nobody_ in NCIS expected Abby Sciuto to be a skilled babysitter. The perky Goth girl had rolled their eyes at them and said, "What? I like babies, okay? And they like me back!"

Abby has an open invitation to come and visit them in Hawaii. Steve just _knows_ that putting her, Kono, Spooky _and_ Gracie in range of each other, not to mention the motley crew of Club Denial, was just asking for trouble. He's not going to have it any other way.

He and Danny call each other every day. They'd had The Talk about this and Danny understands, on an intellectual level, that Cat's not a threat and never would have been. Instinct and feeling are another matter and Steve knows this all too well, having been on the other side himself. If Rachel's pregnancy hadn't been a hoax aimed at getting Danny out of harm's way and out of Hawaii, Steve knows he would have kept his silence on his feelings, not ever wanting Danny to choose between him and his family. And he knows that Danny's keeping his own silence on the matter but Steve can spot the shadows of it in those expressive blue eyes, sense the hurt and the insecurities hiding beneath the support Danny has been giving him.

Steve gets it. He's been through all of that. It occupies his thoughts, even as he gets acquainted with his son, sorts through Catherine's funeral arrangements, contacts her remaining family, gets all the little things done so that Michael bears his name and is in his custody. He also wishes that things could have been different, that he and Cat and Danny would have found a way to work things out, that their son would have grown up knowing his mother. He wishes that he'll have more to share with Michael when he's older about Catherine, other than the fact that they were friends and that he was loved and that Cat died to save his life.

But now, Steve will go home, with his son, where he'll meet his other father and his sister and his doting aunts and uncles.

* * *

**The Conversation **

The conversation between Steve and Danny went this way:

"You realize that I'm not in love with Cat and it was never like that between us, right?"

"Stop. You shouldn't have to say that. I _know_ it already, okay?"

And Danny does. He gets it – God, he's been _right there_ and heaven only knew why Steve's somehow gotten the idea that Danny was Father of the Year. Danny knows he isn't but he tries, because he can't fail Grace, won't screw this up the way he'd managed to screw up being Rachel's husband. There's this sane, sensible Voice of Reason in the back of his head that tells him that the screwing up was mutual but it's hard to get rid of the guilt anyway.

And then, there's this thing he now has with Steve, with his boatload of issues and his crazy need to be this fucking hero, All-American G.I. Joe. Steve with his beautiful face and sweet, goofy smile and that fragile, precious heart that Danny will die to protect – he can't screw this up with Steve, can't fail him.

This time, Danny knows it'll kill him if he does.

And of course, Steve's gotten crazy good at reading Danny's mind, the way Danny's done it to Steve a thousand times, because he is, as he is fond of saying, a damn good detective. So Danny should have been prepared, really, for his goofball of a partner to give him that Look, the one that never fails to turn Danny right into mush and to tell him:

"But you needed to hear it."

Danny doesn't really have the words to describe that Particular Look and he's half afraid to try. And then, most of the words he's got fly straight out of his mind when he gets Steve wrapped around him and Danny can soak in Steve's scent of sun and ocean and gets easy access to the curve of that perfect jawline. And all Danny's left with is a quiet: "Yeah, babe, I guess I did."

So here's Danny at the airport, with the rest of the _ohana_, waiting for Steve to come home with the newest member of their family. And there's a part of him, of course, that aches for Catherine Rollins and the child she left behind. He doesn't know her well but he's not devoid of human compassion and decency. In a strange way, he understands her silence about the pregnancy and the child even as he wishes she'd set both her pride and fears aside and told Steve earlier.

Maybe he's been living with Steve for too long but Danny's sure that they might have worked things out between the three of them, as crazy and as fucked up as this potentially could have been.

Hell, he, Steve and Rachel had managed it for Grace, didn't they?

Grace is already pretty excited to meet her new baby "brother" and if it hadn't been a school day, she would've been with them at the airport. As it stood, Danny would be picking her up after school so she could have dinner at Steve's...well, _their_ house now, and meet little Michael. Danny's just thankful that Grace apparently wasn't showing any signs of jealousy that might have been expected from being the only child and the main center of attention for so long.

Then again, Grace _had_ been hinting at getting a sibling from either Rachel or Danny – Rachel was still working on that one with Stan.

She _did_ explain to Steve why she was looking forward to getting another sibling. His idiot goofball of a partner and husband had yet to tell Danny exactly _what_ she said, because Steve kept dissolving into laughter every time Danny brought the subject up.

Of course, Steve's easy to spot, what with the fact that he's a freakin' giant and that he's in his Navy dress blues. Danny doesn't miss the interested and adoring glances Steve's getting – who _wasn't_ going to end up looking at the handsome Navy officer with the equally cute little baby in his arms? Kono and Spooky have already exchanged eloquent looks and are unsuccessfully repressing their giggle-fits and Chin sums it up quite nicely by saying:

"Houston, we have a problem."

But Danny tunes it out now – he's only got eyes for Steve, who's homing in on Danny with that Particular Look again. And Danny gets to meet little Michael, who is unmistakably his father's son and Danny finds himself grinning at the touch of soft, chubby fingers on his face and the delighted squeal when he playfully nibbles at them. Michael smiles exactly like his father and Danny knows he's already doomed from the very moment he gets graced with that sweet, sunshiny expression.

And of course, while Michael is too young to talk, he's got a very clear opinion about Danny's ties. The first thing Michael does when Danny takes him into his arms is grab his tie and try to chew on it -Steve's never going to let Danny live this down, ever.

Danny won't have it any other way.

_-tbc-_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **

I'll try to extend as many of the "Random Facts" as I possibly can and maybe throw in new ones as I go along. Each chapter's meant to be a finished short story and I'll do my best to write as many of these as the Muses and inspiration strike.


	3. Remix: First Words

**Love Only Knows: The Remix  
By Darth Stitch **

**DISCLAIMER: **As seen in the first post. Yes, there's a Stealth Crossover that includes Rurouni Kenshin as well. All hail Watsuki-sensei!

**SUMMARY:**

Baby Michael says his first words. Poor, put-upon, long-suffering Danny Williams. How is this his life?

(snerk)

* * *

**First Words **

Leave it to Grace to come up with the nickname "Baby SEAL" for Michael.

One of the first gifts that the kid actually got was a tiny Navy SEALs t-shirt apparently sent by one of Steve's non-psychotic SEAL buddies. Danny now has a picture of Steve and Michael wearing those matching Navy shirts on his office desk. Of course, they've both got the same, identical, goofy grins. It really isn't fair, honestly. First there was Steve and Grace ganging up on him with big-eyed pathetic puppy looks whenever they wanted to talk him into something. Now, his husband and daughter have a new recruit into their ranks.

How the hell is Danny supposed to resist the Epic Combo of Super-SEAL, Commander Gracie and Baby SEAL?

Michael, thank God, is one of the happiest, most good-natured babies Danny has ever met – very much like his Gracie at that age. Danny's no stranger to babies to begin with – he's the oldest of the Williams' brood and one of the oldest among their extended family of cousins. He's put in a lot of babysitting time and he knows all the horrors that come with watching over rugrats of all ages. Given Steve's propensity for trouble, Danny's already braced himself for the mischief that a "Baby SEAL" could cause.

But so far, Michael's got that happy, friendly disposition and a sweet temper to boot. Even at his age, he's already showing signs of an easy charm – Danny's lost track of the number of times they were at the supermarket or park and complete strangers take one look at Michael and immediately dote on him.

Naturally, the majority of these admirers are female.

"What, you're not even able to talk yet and you're already flirting at your age?" Danny tells the little guy sitting comfortably in his stroller.

Michael giggles.

"So if his Dad's nicknamed 'Smooth Dog' with the SEALs, does that make Michael a 'Smooth Puppy?'" Spooky observes in as innocent a voice as possible when Danny recounts this back at HQ.

Danny groans. "Oh God, no. Just no. Like Steve's ego needed anymore boosting…"

Chin snorts. "That was bad, Spooky. Really, really bad."

"She can get away with saying it!" Kono defends her. "Steve's not here!"

"Exactly!" Spooky agrees.

And of course, Steve chooses that moment to walk right into the bullpen, only to stop short when everyone gets quiet and looks at him.

Naturally, he's clueless.

Actually, Michael does like to talk ("Of course, it's the _one_ thing he gets from you, Danno," Steve says fondly). It's just that what he's saying has no resemblance to an understandable language yet. He will happily baby-babble back when he's talked to by anyone and it's hilarious to watch him and any member of their _ohana_ plus extended family engage in a conversation. Thank God that nobody in the _ohana_ is inclined to do baby-talk – they were all in agreement that they had to teach the kid the right communication skills.

Steve, of course, only rolled his eyes when Danny made a pointed crack about _his_ ability to communicate.

Of course, Chin, Kono and Kamekona speak Hawaiian to the little guy, Spooky's known to slip into _Tagalog _("What? I have Filipino relatives in this lifetime!"), there's their regular babysitter Kenshin speaking to Michael in Japanese and Steve, Danny and Grace use good plain English. With all the multi-lingual action going on, Danny's not surprised the kid's decided to evolve his own language.

Michael's rapidly approaching the time when he's supposed to speak his first, audible words. Most kids his age would be now saying things like "Dada" or "Mama." In this case, Steve and Danny are waiting for "Dada" and "Danno" and it's an ongoing joke between them what Michael is going to say first.

Danny's just praying that it's not going to be a cuss word. Honestly, he and Steve _are_ trying to put a lid on the swearing – doing everything from keeping a swear jar (at this rate, Grace and Michael's college funds are assured) to finding slightly less offensive words to take the place of the standard four-letter ones.

Kono, of course, can't resist making air quotes. " '_What the frog?' _Seriously, _brah?_"

"I don't know," This from Spooky. "Taking Kermit's name in vain is kinda cute."

"You're all fu—er-_frogging_ comedians," Danny says sourly.

"Ribbit, ribbit?" Steve adds playfully.

"I give up." Danny sighs.

All things considered, Danny should have really seen this coming.

So it's another Paperwork Day and naturally, that meant Danny is going to have his precious baby girl with him. Well, Gracie isn't _that_ little anymore but she is always going to be his baby girl, no matter what and Danny is just very thankful that puberty was still far enough away in the future that he didn't have to break out the shotguns yet.

He certainly wasn't going to stop Steve from threatening future boyfriends with the shark tank.

Steve's also supposed to pick Michael up from the babysitter, whose dojo was just an easy walk away from the Iolani Palace. Well, technically, Kenshin's wife Kaoru ran the dojo – Kenshin loved kids and babysitting was his day job when he wasn't overseeing security for Club Denial. Danny's still trying to wrap his head around how a Meiji-era swordsman could still be alive and well in this century. Steve mentioned something about _dragons_ and at that point, Danny just gave up on the supernatural crazy that was now part of his daily life and contented himself with the knowledge that Kenshin was pretty much the samurai version of Steve and Michael was in the very safest hands possible.

The fact that Yakuza were known to piss their pants at the mention of the "Hitokiri Battousai" pretty much sealed the deal for Danny.

So Danny comes in with Gracie and he immediately realizes that something's up because the rest of the _ohana_ are all gathered in the bullpen and they are all in varying states of hysterical laughter. And they're looking at him so this is definitely not a good sign.

"Okay, people, 'fess up. What's going on and what do I have to do with it?" he asks. "And where's Steve and Michael?"

"You're such a suspicious guy, Danny," Kono tells him in mock-reproof. "Can't we, your co-workers, enjoy a good joke in peace?"

"You can – it's a free country after all," Danny agrees. "I would love to be in on the joke, except that I see I'm apparently the butt of the joke at the moment."

Grace frowns. "It's not nice to laugh at someone else."

"Oh sweetie," Spooky says. "We're not exactly laughing _at_ your Dad. We just think he's adorable, that's all. Badass Adorable, even."

"You're not Steve and the flattery's an epic fail, Spooky," Danny says severely. "_What_ is going on?"

Chin, thank God, finally takes pity on Danny. "Michael finally said his first words today, _brah_. And Steve just took Michael off to the men's room to change his diapers."

Grace, like Danny, gets all excited. "Did he say Danno, Uncle Chin? Please tell me he did!"

At that point, the team dissolves into laughter yet again and then, Steve and Michael walk into the bullpen.

Upon seeing Danny, Michael squeals happily and reaches out for him. "Book 'em, Danno!"

The words are clear, precise and God help them all, Michael's even got Steve's faint drawl down pat.

Danny automatically takes the little guy into his arms and as always, Michael grabs at Danny's tie. "This is gonna be a thing for you too, kiddo? Really?"

Michael brings up Danny's tie to his mouth and beams.

Grace is giggling. "Say it again, Mikey!"

"Oh for the love of Kermit the Frog –"

"Book 'em, Danno!"

Steve has the decency to look sheepish even as he carefully pries Danny's tie away from Michael. "Like I've told you a thousand times, it's a term of endearment. Okay?"

"Dada!" Michael says happily, patting Steve on the nose.

"It's just like when Wesley tells Buttercup 'As you wish' in _The Princess Bride_, Daddy," Grace explains and she brings in the final nail in his coffin when she throws her arms around his waist and looks up at him. "Steve's saying he loves you. And now Mikey does too."

And oh God, Steve's giving him That Particular Look again, the one that turns Danny right into a hopeless puddle of goo and what the hell is he supposed to do against insurmountable odds like these?

Danny's got only one thing to say to that. "Okay. Do it every day. I like it."

_-tbc-_


End file.
